5 Tips for Developing Facebook Applications

Developing applications for Facebook is no easy task. We’ve pulled together a list of tips and insight gained through our own experience in an effort to make the process a lot less frustrating and a lot more fun.

1. Stay current on the ever changing rules for businesses, content, contests, legal changes and applications. Sign -up for the Inside Facebook and All Facebook blog emails. These aren’t published by Facebook but they’re excellent resources for helping you stay current. We’ve found that many of the regulations change monthly.
2. Facebook continually adds and enhances existing features. Plan for this by referring to the Facebook roadmap for developers and Facebook developer news. These are also great resources for project planners, allowing them to incorporate upcoming features into the overall project plan.
3. Your application's scope and desired functionality will determine both the Location and Render Method.
1. Location
1. Profile – An application placed as a tab on user’s profile page, or a fan page, limited to the use of FBML (Facebook Markup Language) to add Facebook elements. See Kohl’s Facebook Fan Page for an example.
2. Canvas – An application that is placed on its own page, and gives you the ability to have complex features and multiple pages. Think of it as a micro-site, inside Facebook. See Yard Smarts Boot Camp Contest Page for an example.
2. Render Method
1. FBML – Facebooks Markup Language enables you to easily integrate Facebook elements, but there are limitations on the use of custom CSS and Javascript.
2. IFrame – Enables you to use a conventional web page with more complex functionality through the use of the server-side code and the Facebook API. Also enables full use of CSS and Javascript.
4. If you’re developing Facebook applications that use the Facebook API, Facebook provides you with a list of Client Libraries to help in developing apps.
5. Plan to spend A LOT of time researching and testing. Facebook can and probably will surprise you with quirks. For example, we’ve encountered a code sample that was provided by Facebook that simply didn’t work. Don’t forget to test your work in multiple browsers and operating systems. If numerous developers are working on an application, we recommend creating a Wiki as an organizational resource for collecting and tracking known issues.

The importance of Facebook for marketers is all-too present in today's exciting social media market. You can execute your Facebook marketing magic much easier with advanced planning, attention to detail and thorough testing.

- Tim, Travis and Chad

   The Development Team

Copywriting for SEO

When it comes to search engine optimization, your content is your biggest ally. Including smart and strategic keywords in your copy will not only help improve your Google ranking, but will make your content richer and more descriptive.

No matter how good your content may be if it can’t be found by your customers…it doesn’t exist to them. Sad thought, right? Not to worry. We have outlined some simple, but helpful ways to improve online copywriting and get that traffic you deserve.

1. Start by writing down all the possible keywords you can think of. Anything that comes to mind. Depending on your company, this list should be between 30 and 50 keywords or keyword phrases.
2. This part is a little more complicated: Narrow down your keyword list based on keyword popularity and competition. To do this try using tools like Google Ad Words: Keyword Tool. The sweet spot = keywords with lower competition, but higher traffic. Once you have found between five and fifteen keywords that fit this bill you are one step closer to SEO content success.
3. Just a hint: utilize suggested keywords and synonyms when evaluating your keyword list. Your tools might provide you with keywords that you didn’t even think of. For example, if you are creating keywords for a shoe store your list of keywords might not include “kicks,” “sneaks,” “heels” or “pumps” but customers are still searching for these terms. Use tools like Wordtracker to identify these hidden keywords. Also, keep it simple generic terms usually beat out specific keyword phrases in customers minds—we don’t want to over complicate our keywords.
4. Keep the copywriting emotional with a personal vignette or story. Use the acronym AIDA: a marketing message must attract Attention, arouse Interest, increase Desire and prompt Action.
5. Remember to insert your keywords where it makes sense to do so. Don’t be afraid to remove pronouns or filler words and replace with relevant keywords. Your goal is a healthy balance of keywords and effective writing.
6. To evaluate the keyword richness of your content use the keyword density index (KDI). Divide the number of times a keyword phrase (e.g., “search engine optimization”) appears in the first 500 words of your copy. For example, let’s say five. So you divide that number (5) by 500, and then multiple by the number of words in the keyword, in this case three. KDI = 5/500 x 3 = 3% KDI. Your goal should be a KDI of 2.7% or higher in the first 500 words.
7. Remember to keep the keywords topical for a given page. Don’t add a handful of unrelated keywords to your copywriting or meta-descriptions. Keep it focused.
8. Make sure to optimize the meta-title, meta-description, meta-keyword, and URL tags of all of your web site pages. Examples:
1. Title Tag: Copywriting for Search Engine Optimization | Finn Digital Blog Post Copywriting for SEO
2. Description: Improve your search engine optimization ranking by rethinking your online copywriting
3. URL Tag: Copywriting-for-SEO.html 

Search engine spiders pay close attention to meta-data making it extremely important to your SEO campaign

With the right keywords and smart writing you will be well on your way to #1. 

By: Kari